Athletic apparatus and game

ABSTRACT

An athletic apparatus and method of gameplay may be provided. In an exemplary embodiment, an athletic apparatus may include a height-adjustable center pole and at least one net running from the center pole to the ground. A variety of games may be played using the athletic apparatus, including variations of common sports involving a ball or birdie.

BACKGROUND

People of all ages play a variety of sports that require a specialized playing field or court. These fields may require a large, flat surface and structural components, such as nets or goals. It therefore may be difficult to play games or practice certain sports without a specialized field or court. A smaller scale court that can be used for playing variations of a sport may therefore be desired.

SUMMARY

According to an exemplary embodiment, an athletic apparatus may be provided. An athletic apparatus may include a height-adjustable center pole with an anchoring member disposed at the top. The anchoring member may have a plurality of holes. At least one net, including a line, may secure to a hole in the anchoring member and may run to a ground anchor. The at least one net may divide a playing surface into zones.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a method of playing a game may be provided. The method may include setting up an athletic apparatus for a desired number of players. Next, a game may be started by a player serving a ball or birdie from behind a back line. A point may be scored against a player. The serve may rotate to a next server after a point is scored. Gameplay may be continued until a player has reached a predetermined maximum number of points. A winner may be determined as the player with the least amount of points scored against them.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which:

Exemplary FIG. 1A may show a perspective view of an athletic apparatus;

Exemplary FIG. 1B may show an elevation view of an athletic apparatus;

Exemplary FIG. 2 may show a center pole of an athletic apparatus;

Exemplary FIG. 3 may show an anchor member of a center pole;

Exemplary FIG. 4A may show an athletic apparatus;

Exemplary FIG. 4B may show a center pole of an athletic apparatus;

Exemplary FIG. 5 may show an anchor;

Exemplary FIG. 6 may show an alternative anchor;

Exemplary FIG. 7 may show another alternative anchor;

Exemplary FIG. 8 may show an athletic court;

Exemplary FIG. 9 may show an alternative arrangement of an athletic court;

Exemplary FIG. 10 may show another alternative arrangement of an athletic court;

Exemplary FIG. 11 may show another alternative arrangement of an athletic court; and

Exemplary FIG. 12 may show a flow chart for exemplary gameplay.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description discussion of several terms used herein follows.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms “embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, and referring to the Figures generally, an athletic court 100 may be provided. An exemplary court 100 may include an adjustable net structure, which may be adjustable to account for a varying number of players and a variety of game conditions. Athletic court 100 may allow athletes to play competitive games and practice a variety of skills. Court 100 may be set up on a variety of surfaces 102, including sand, grass, dirt, pavement, a gym floor, or other surfaces as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Court 100 may further include perimeter boundary lines, or back lines 104. Back lines 104 may be physical lines applied to a surface or may be understood, imaginary lines. Back lines may further have a middle 105, which may optionally have significance during gameplay.

Adjustable net structure 110 may include a center pole 112. Now referring to exemplary FIG. 2, center pole 112 may have an adjustable height. In an exemplary embodiment, center pole 112 may be telescopically adjustable, having at least one adjustable section 114 slidably adjustable within a base tube 116. In some non-limiting exemplary embodiments, center pole 112 may be vertically adjustable from approximately three feet to approximately six feet. Base tube 116 may have at least one securing hole 118 perpendicularly disposed there-through. Adjustable section 114 may also have at least one securing hole 120 perpendicularly disposed there-through. A locking pin 122 may be inserted through any of holes 118 and 120, when aligned, to secure the center pole 112 at a desired height, as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. The height of center pole 112 may therefore be adjusted in increments corresponding to the spacing of holes 118, 120.

Center pole 112 may further optionally have a base 124. Base 124 may be weighted or may be capable of being fastened to a surface to maintain the upright orientation of center pole 112. In some embodiments, base 124 may be hollow and capable of being filled with sand or water for weighting purposes. Such embodiments may facilitate transportation. Some embodiments of base 124 may also include wheels for facilitating transportation. In yet other embodiments, center pole 112 may not have base 124, but may be inserted into a ground surface, securing the orientation of center pole 112. Center pole 112 may also have a net anchoring member 126, as shown in exemplary FIG. 3. Net anchoring member 126 may be disposed at the top of adjustable section 114 and may include a plurality of holes 128 for securing at least one net. In an exemplary embodiment, net anchoring member 126 may be substantially disc shaped and may be positioned horizontally atop pole 112. The plurality of holes 128 may be disposed around the perimeter of anchoring member 126.

Adjustable net structure 110 may further include at least one net 130, as shown in exemplary FIGS. 1A, 1B and 4A. Net 130 may include a line 132, which may connect from anchoring member 126 to a ground surface. In some embodiments, line 132 may optionally be stretchable line, such as shock cord or bungee cord. Line 132 may vary in length as desired. The length of line 132 may dictate the size of the athletic court. In some exemplary embodiments, the length of line 132 may be adjusted for different skill levels. As a non-limiting example, line 132 may be sized to meet a ground surface 102 approximately 8 feet from the center pole 112 for juniors, approximately 12 feet for recreational play, and approximately 14 feet for professional play. Line 132 may be secured to one of holes 128 of anchoring member 126 by tying or any of a variety of fasteners, including buckles, clips, hooks, and other fasteners as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Line 132 may be secured to a ground surface by any of a variety of ground anchors, as shown in exemplary FIGS. 5-7. Exemplary anchors may include a sand anchor 534, spike 634, or recessed anchor 734 for hard surfaces, such as concrete, pavement, or gym floors. Net 130 may also include netting 136, which may be suspended from line 132. In some exemplary embodiments, netting 136 may be substantially flexible, while in other embodiments, netting 136 may be substantially inflexible. Netting 136 may also include a framing material, which may assist in maintaining a desired surface area for netting 136. Framing material may include an additional line running from pole 112 along a bottom edge 137 of netting 136 to a point on line 132 or to a ground surface. Similarly, a bottom edge 137 of netting 136 may be weighted to maintain a desired shape of netting 136. Netting 136 may extend for a desired length along line 132. Back lines 104 may connect the distal ends of lines 132.

Now referring to exemplary FIGS. 8-11, the number of nets 130 used may vary according to a desired game and number of participants. For example, as shown in exemplary FIGS. 8-11, the athletic court 100 may be divided into a desired number of evenly sized sections 140 or zones based on the number of nets 130 used. The number of sections 140 may optionally correlate to a multiple of the number of participants. FIGS. 8-11 may show exemplary court layouts, however, they are not limiting, as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Exemplary courts may have between two and six zones, though, more than six zones may be possible.

In operation, a variety of games may be performed on the athletic court. Players may, for example, play variations of existing games or may create new games to be played on athletic court 100. Variations of existing games may include, but are not limited to, volleyball, soccer, paddleball, and badminton. Now referring to exemplary FIG. 12, before a game can be played, a court 100 may be set up for a desired number of players 1200. Each player may have a zone. Zones may be separate by at least one net connected to a center pole. Each zone may further have perimeter boundary, or back line. Once the court has been set, an exemplary game may be played as follows.

First, the game may be started with a serve 1210. The game may be played with any of a variety of playing pieces, such as a ball or birdie. A server may stand outside of their zone, from an area behind their back line. In some embodiments a serve may be from behind the middle of the back line. In some embodiments, the serve may have to reach a height greater than the standing height of all players.

A point may be scored against a player 1220. A point may be scored against a player if that player allows the ball/birdie to touch the ground after having entered their zone. A player may also only touch the ball/birdie once per play; otherwise, a point may be scored against them. Lines and the center post may be considered “in play.” After each point scored, the serve may rotate to the next server in a clockwise direction 1230. Gameplay may be continued until a player has reached a predetermined maximum number of points scored against them 1240. A winner may be determined by having the least amount of points once a player has reached a predetermined maximum allowed number of points 1250. The predetermined maximum may be any desired number. In some embodiments the maximum may be 15 or 21.

There may be further miscellaneous rules that may be generally applied or may be decided upon by players. These may include adding a point for a player who breaks the plane separating another player's zone or contacts common lines or nets. A player may optionally be allowed to contact the back line of their zone. A player may also optionally be allowed to break the plane below common lines and nets to play a ball without contacting the common lines/nets. Additionally, there may be specific rules based on the sport variation being played. For example, for volleyball games there may be no open under hands and for soccer there may be no hand balls. As a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand, there may be a variety of additional rules based on the sport.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An athletic apparatus comprising: a height-adjustable center pole; an anchoring member disposed at a top of the center pole, the anchoring member having a plurality of holes disposed therein; and at least one net having a line configured to secure to a hole disposed in the anchoring member and run to a ground anchor, wherein the at least one net divides a playing surface into zones.
 2. The athletic apparatus of claim 1, the center pole further comprising a base tube having at least one hole disposed perpendicularly there-through, an adjustable section having at least one hole disposed perpendicularly there-through, and at least one pin configured to be inserted through holes in the base tube and the adjustable section to secure a desired height of the center pole.
 3. The athletic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the anchoring member is substantially disc-shaped and the plurality of holes are disposed around a perimeter thereof.
 4. The athletic apparatus of claim 1, the ground anchor further comprising at least one of a spike, a recessed anchor, or a sand anchor.
 5. The athletic apparatus of claim 1, the center pole further comprising a base.
 6. The athletic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the base is weighted.
 7. The athletic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the center pole is secured in the ground.
 8. The athletic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the number of nets is determined to create a number of zones corresponding to a number of players.
 9. A method of playing a game comprising: setting up an athletic apparatus for a desired number of players; starting a game by having a player serve from behind a back line; scoring a point against a player; rotating the serve to a next server after a point is scored; continuing gameplay until a player has reached a predetermined maximum number of points; and determining a winner as the player with the least amount of points scored against them.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein setting up an athletic apparatus for a desired number of players further comprises setting up a height-adjustable center pole with an anchoring member disposed at a top of the center pole, the anchoring member having a plurality of holes disposed therein, and setting up at least one net having a line configured to secure to a hole disposed in the anchoring member and run to a ground anchor, wherein a number of nets is chosen to divide a playing surface into a number of zones correlating to a number of players.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein a point may be scored against a player when the player allows the ball or birdie to land within the player's zone, the player hits the ball or birdie more than once in a single play, the player contacts a net or line, or the player crosses into another player's zone over a net or line.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the serve rotates in a clockwise direction.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the game is played with a ball or birdie. 